Some people compare your story to Alice in Wonderland. Were you at least inspired by Alice? I have heard this comparison a few times, which always surprises me. In hindsight, the Dark Hills Divide and Alice in Wonderland seem to share some thematic similarities, but when I was writing the story Alice in Wonderland was not on my mind. I have noticed that classic tales have a way of revealing themselves over and over again in newer works.The Land of Elyon developed from bedtime stories for your daughters. Do they not feel cheated, when now ‘stories for them’can be read by children around the world? That’s a very astute question! My children are firmly ‘undecided’ on the publication and popularity of the Elyon books. On the one hand they tell friends that Elyon is ‘my story’ and they can be overly protective of it. At the same time – and maybe to a slightly greater degree – both children are happy that other children get to experience the story. So while they sometimes wish we could turn back the clock and keep Elyon all to ourselves, they see the value in sharing the experience with children everywhere. It seems that fantasy literature is more than fashionable today (Tolkien, Rowling, Paolini). Why do you think people are always hungry and ready to read new fantasy story? When I signed my first book deal with Scholastic in the US I asked Craig Walker, the senior editor, why he thought Harry Potter was so popular. His response was that children and adults are always searching for something bigger than themselves, something that will give deeper meaning to their lives. I think the secularization of societies has made young people search for deeper meaning in the stories they experience (in books, movies, and television). Fantasy happens to be a genre in which the common threads of good vs. evil and a heroic figure are nearly always present. When you can develop good characters – flawed but ultimately successful – people resonate with what that means in their own lives. It gives them hope. Metaphorically speaking, we’re all slaying our own dragons!Did your life changed dramatically, since your book has been successful? Are you famous? Could you go out shopping without getting recognized? In America there are very few authors that would be recognizable if they were seen on the street or in a mall. I’ve visited 300 schools and spoken to over 100,000 kids, so for me being recognized primarily occurs in the school environment. When I’m speaking at a school I’m more widely known and approached for autographs, which I find invigorating! On the success part of your question, the financial rewards have been nice, but I’m primarily interested in being a better writer with every new book. I love what I do!You said you like to travel. Are your journeys an inspiration for writing? My traveling has recently begun to play out in some books that haven’t been released yet. Certain places, certain things I’ve seen, have inspired me to write stories I didn’t necessarily see myself writing a few years ago. But I’m inspired by the every day things that happen at home as well. I live in an old neighborhood and there’s an elementary school nearby. Every school day a little girl walks by our living room window. She’s all by herself and she’s singing at the top of her lungs. We hear her coming and everyone in the house gets quiet, listening as she passes by. I’ve thought about stopping her and asking why she sings so much when no one is listening, but I’m afraid if she knows we hear her she’ll stop singing when she gets near our house and we love her singing! She’s in her own world, singing her little head off, and I can’t help but want to put everyday stuff like that in a book.Have you considered the possibility of traveling around Europe to help support the book? We have plans to visit European countries when the kids are a little older, but for now I’m touring so much in the US there’s just not time to travel internationally to support the books. The books are in 20 languages, so it’s hard to know where to start, but Slovakia seems as good a place as any!Could you compare your income as writer to the one as the owner of an advertising agency? That’s a hard question to answer, because both endeavors can be financially rewarding or financial disasters. I’d only say that in my view, making a good living as a writer or an advertising executive is less important than doing what you love. For me, when I’ve followed my heart and not my pocket book, the financial end has always worked itself out.Who is your hardest critic? (one of the daughters, wife, editor …) My most demanding critic is  without any hesitation  myself. For me this is a good characteristic to have, because while I’m critical of my work I’m not cruel or mean with the way I approach my own efforts. So rather than saying to myself ‘This is awful stuff I just wrote,’ I’m much more likely to say ‘I think I’ll take a break, get a really good cup of coffee, and give this another shot. I can do better.’

A book deal seemed the quintessential happy ending when Patrick Carman became a published author three years ago.The former businessman parlayed his love for story-telling into a six-figure book deal with publisher Scholastic Inc. It launched him as a New York Times children’s best-seller for his youth fiction fantasy trilogy “The Land of Elyon,’ the story of a curious 12-year-old girl with a magical destiny to solve the mystery of the walled kingdom where she lives.Two million copies, a new house and encounters with more than 50,000 school children later, Carman has signed two more book deals, one of which will include a prequel trilogy to his original series.“The Elyon stuff lives on,’ said the father of two during a recent interview in the Walla Walla writing studio he converted from a former carriage house.With a Jack Johnson CD providing soft background music, Carman settled into a black leather couch, flanked on one side by an acoustic guitar and the classic game Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots. In this comfy place, the man who seemed to effortlessly convert his children’s bedtime stories into a nationally known series at 37, spends hours – sometimes days – working on his new tales.“It isn’t like once you write a really popular book that it’s a gimme,’ he said of success.Under his new contract with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – a publishing firm under the Time Warner Book Group umbrella – Carman said he’s experiencing a more stringent editing process.“It is so much more work than I’ve ever gone through,’ he said.His copies come back riddled with red marks and suggestions. Though the experience is different from Elyon, which he previously self-published before catching Scholastic’s attention, Carman said it ultimately sharpens the storyline.For Little, Brown, Carman’s “Atherton’ series, geared toward middle-schoolers, is a science fiction fantasy about a violently changing world and the experiences of three characters from different backgrounds.The first book is expected to be released in spring 2007.The following fall, Carman will release “Into the Mist,’ the first book in the prequel series to Elyon for Scholastic. Carman said the outline is finished for that project. The story will provide background on Thomas Warvold, the deceased architect who constructed the walls surrounding the city.Meanwhile, Carman is now entrenched in his six-week U.S. tour to promote “The Tenth City,’ the final book in the original Elyon series.The book debuted at No. 9 on The New York Times children’s series list, and jumped earlier this week to the No. 7 spot. It was also mentioned last week by USA Today. The book was listed at No. 145 on the paper’s top 150 list of books in every category, including adult books, series, children, nonfiction and more.Carman describes “The Tenth City’ as the finale between the forces of good and evil threaded through the series.Release of the book has been a huge relief for Carman, who has kept fans in suspense since his cliffhanger “Beyond the Valley of Thorns.’“I had so much trouble holding onto all these secrets, it was killing me,’ said Carman.As with his other tours, much of Carman’s time is spent visiting elementary schools. By the end of his six-week tour, he will have appeared at 60 schools, a promotional vehicle that not only helped him get his start but also encourages literacy among children.“I just feel absolutely compelled to go to schools,’ he said.When he returns in a few weeks, Carman will resume work on his other projects, which he expects to keep him busy for at least another several years.“I do feel more pressure,’ he said. “But in my opinion if it’s easy, that may be a sign it’s time to do something different.’